Sony is turning to this year’s Wimbledon Championship to launch a unique, first-ever ad campaign that uses “microtising” (a hybrid of microscopic and advertising), intended to promote the capabilities of 4K. Tennis player Anne Keothavong will be sporting micro-sized advertisements on her fingernails, the hem of her skirt, her shoelaces and various sporting equipment. Sony will be capturing Wimbledon action with its F55 35mm 4K camera and an NEX-FS700. Continue reading Sony Tests Micro-Sized Ads to Promote 4K During Wimbledon

ESPN is planning to shut down its ESPN 3D channel at year’s end. “Due to limited viewer adoption of 3D services to the home, ESPN is discontinuing ESPN 3D,” explained the company in a statement. “We are committing our 3D resources to other products and services that will better serve fans and affiliates. Nobody knows more about sports in 3D than ESPN, and we will be ready to provide the service to fans if or when 3D does take off.” Continue reading ESPN to Shut Down 3D Sports Channel by End of This Year

Since the debut of Ultra HD 4K TVs at CES in January, Sony has become the first to offer 4K televisions to consumers with its new line of screens available through its Bravia brand. The first 4K Bravia sets are 55- and 65-inch models priced in the $7,000 range, while an 84-inch unit costs as much as $25,000. As an incentive, Sony is including a set of 10 4K mastered Blu-ray movies, and plans to launch a digital download service with more content. Continue reading Sony Launches 4K Bravia TVs, Other Brands Expected Soon

In a new twist to cord cutting, the trend in which consumers cancel their cable subscriptions in favor of Internet video, surveys indicate that hundreds of thousands of Americans canceled their home Internet service last year. As consumers leverage the growth of free Wi-Fi hot spots and fast new wireless networks via their smartphones and tablets, some are cutting their home Internet cord more so than their pay TV cord. Continue reading Cord Cutters Canceling Internet Service More Than Pay TV

In an effort to boost lagging television sales, Best Buy announced that 700 of its U.S. stores will start selling Sony 4K Ultra HDTVs this week. The home theater departments of Best Buy and Magnolia stores will prominently display the 4K sets and offer demonstrations that tout the benefits of the new format over current 1080p offerings. The demos are expected to emphasize up-scaling capabilities to help attract consumers. Continue reading Best Buy Now Selling Sony 4K Televisions in its U.S. Stores

According to internal documents obtained by TechCrunch, Microsoft is pursuing a $1 billion purchase of the digital assets of Nook Media LLC, the digital book joint venture between Barnes & Noble and investors. “In this plan, Microsoft would redeem preferred units in Nook Media, which also includes a college book division, leaving it with the digital operation — e-books, as well as Nook e-readers and tablets.” Continue reading Microsoft Reportedly to Pay $1 Billion for Nook Digital Assets

Canadian company UrtheCast is launching the first high-definition camera that will stream near-live images from the International Space Station. Once the camera is installed, an interactive feature will be available for consumers, government agencies and third-party app developers. The startup will compete with companies such as DigitalGlobe in the commercial satellite-imaging business, which is expected to grow to $3.76 billion by 2018. Continue reading UrtheCast to Offer Live Streaming from the Space Station

Home entertainment server maker Kaleidescape opened its own download store for HD movies this week. This new system lets users download “Blu-ray quality” versions of movies that can then be played through Kaleidescape or on the Web and through mobile devices via UltraViolet. However, there is a concern regarding the amount of data each download will consume, as each movie can average around 50GB. Continue reading Kaleidescape Launches Download Store for HD Movies

According to The Verge, the new Philips DesignLine HD LED TV is among the most striking televisions designed of late. Manufacturer TP Vision crafted the impressive, sleek set out of a single sheet of glass, meaning there’s no base stand or ‘chin’ to be seen. Available in 46- and 55-inch configurations, the DesignLine is intended to be simply leaned against a wall, with its weight enough to keep it standing securely. Continue reading Philips Unveils DesignLine HDTV with Sheet of Glass Design

Satellite operator SES announced that in partnership with Harmonic and Broadcom it has created the first Ultra HD transmission in the new HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) standard live from an ASTRA satellite. The end-to-end demo was presented at SES Industry Days in Luxembourg. The company claims the new standard features up to 50 percent improvement in encoding efficiency, as compared to MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) broadcasts. Continue reading SES Demos First Ultra HD Transmission in HEVC Standard

During last week’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Sony announced that its Digital Cinema Solutions Group is beginning customer trials that will test its “xMassif” Web-based, content exchange platform. According to the company release: “This online marketplace creates a new model for increasing access to alternative, independent and repertory content among content owners, exhibitors and promoters, in an easy-to-use and secure environment.” Continue reading Sony Launches Pilot Program for Content Exchange Platform

A number of interesting camera and related 4K technologies were on display at last week’s NAB show in Las Vegas including Blackmagic’s new $995 Pocket Cinema Camera, the Production Camera 4K from Blackmagic, Phantom’s Flex4K Digital Cinema camera, two new 4K projectors from Christie capable of 60 frames-per-second, and a proof of concept trifocal camera system from Germany’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute. Continue reading NAB 2013: Compelling New Camera and Projection Systems

At NAB in Las Vegas, Japanese broadcaster NHK demonstrated its real-time, over-the-air transmission and reception of 8K for the first time outside of Japan. 8K technology is considered Ultra High-Definition — touting resolution 16 times that of HDTV. The U.S. and U.K. are currently exploring the possibilities of 4K technology, which seems more realistically applicable within the market at this point. Continue reading NAB 2013: NHK Demos Super Hi-Vision 8K Technology

In a room at the back of the Cisco NAB booth (North Hall, A113), and in a few session presentations by UK VP of technology Simon Parnall, Cisco is showing its vision of the next generation of in-home audiovisual experiences. The company has prototyped a system that allows browsers to work among multiple tiled screens, seamlessly joined in any configuration, and built into walls in the home. Continue reading NAB 2013: Cisco Unveils Vision of its Second Screen 2.0

While 4K Ultra High Definition TV has yet to make it into the living room, the industry is moving forward with new cameras, evolving standards and early television production. Sony Pictures Television, for example, is producing select pilots with digital cinema cameras, while 3Net is forging ahead with its Total D strategy that includes producing versions of programs in both 2D and 3D at multiple resolutions. Initial tests for broadcasting sports in 4K are just around the corner. Continue reading NAB 2013: TV Industry Moves Toward 4K Ultra HD Format